Thursday, March 28, 2013

Operating on the premise an armed neighborhood is a safer neighborhood, a group led by former mayoral candidate Shaun McClusky is raising money to purchase shotguns and provide training for anyone who lives in a mid- to high-crime neighborhood and can pass a background check.

The project is part of a developing nationwide movement to see if more guns really do translate into less crime.

Monday, March 25, 2013

I've been playing guitar for 32 years. From early on I decided (or was forced to grudgingly give in to, whatever) that I was a strummer and simple picker kind of guitar player, the kind that plays to accompany lyrics. I love writing lyrics, I’ve loved writing the fairly simple guitar songs I’ve written, but I always wanted to play lead guitar. Or just much more dynamic and colorful guitar. And I just could not do it. I tried. A lot. I just couldn't do it. Nothing but anything simple, anyway. (I can SHRED a Neil Young one-note lead until the neighbors throw flaming cats through the windows.)

I don't play out anymore. My last gig was way more than a year ago, and there weren’t that many in a few years preceding. But I've picked up the guitar at home more in recent months, and I just play. I pick, I strum a bit, but more often I play - or try to play - lead-like stuff. And I just play.

Last night something happened. My brain, all of a sudden - and I mean I noticed it the way you notice you’ve almost fallen asleep and your car has left the road - my brain was all of a sudden doing something that I had never felt it do with me and my guitar. My brain was communicating with my fingers and my ears - most importantly with my ears - in a way that was, honestly, completely gobsmacking. And I was playing dynamic, colorful, lead guitar. And it didn’t suck! (Or at least I thought so. Maybe I was having a flashback?)

I know it's just me and my guitar, and I know there's a lot of hurt out there in the world, but hot damn. This is music. I am very happy and very thankful about this, and, well, there you go.

I hope I can play you a song some day that makes you feel a little better about everything.

Thanks for listening.

P.S. I'm very thankful Christine puts up with - and even seems to like - my noodling, too. Thank you, baby.

Sunday, March 24, 2013

Friday afternoon, the beleaguered singer tweeted that she would be appearing at Saturday night at McCabe’s in Santa Monica for a “speaking engagement” on the subject of “Effects of Gay-Bashing on the L.A. Mayoral Race.”

This came as news to the club -- and not good news.
“She is not welcome at McCabe’s,” said the venue’s angry concert director, Lincoln Myerson, who had just learned about Shocked’s vow -- or threat -- to show up after he got calls regarding the singer’s mysterious tweet.

On Monday, the guitar shop and concert venue joined nearly every other club on her itinerary in canceling her planned show after the singer's alleged anti-gay comments at the opening gig of the tour Sunday night in San Francisco led to mass walkouts and media furor.

Lansing elementary students will soon say goodbye to all their art, music, and gym teachers.

They’re among 87 staff positions getting the ax this year.
The district’s got to scrape together $6 million in savings, and what with the right-to-work law taking effect next week, teachers around the state are eager to ink new contracts.

Thursday, March 21, 2013

PRIME Minister Julia Gillard has told victims of forced adoption practices: "We apologise".
Ms Gillard made the long awaited national apology at a special ceremony in Canberra attended by hundreds of people, including mothers betrayed by a system that decided their children were better off elsewhere.

"We acknowledge your loss and grief," the prime minister said.

From the 1950s to the 1970s an estimated 150,000 unwed Australian mothers had their babies forcibly adopted under a practice sanctioned by governments, churches, hospitals, charities and bureaucrats.

I'll post video and trascript when they become available. *You can watch it here.This is worth putting other stuff away and watching.